Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development

Since being incorporated into the Finmeccanica Group, Telespazio has been aligning its personnel policies and practices to those of the parent company. The challenge for the HR team is to foster a strategic and organizational change that will turn a domestic telecommunications firm into a leading global company in satellite solutions and services. The case focuses on the design and implementation of a new performance appraisal system. It starts out with the establishment of a task force to create a new appraisal system from scratch. Next, the case provides a detailed description of the performance appraisal program (What is assessed? Who is in charge? What steps are involved?) and describes the main levers adopted to move from a simple appraisal perspective towards a more multifaceted approach. The case also explains how the system supports the company's shift towards a project-based organization. The first part of the case ends in 2011 when, after six years from the first implementation, the HR team meets to evaluate the results achieved. The strengths and weaknesses of the program are discussed. The second part of the case illustrates the major revisions introduced to the program and brings a new challenge for the HR team: extending the implementation to all of Telespazio's foreign subsidiaries by the end of 2014.

Authors :: Silvia Profili, Alessia Sammarra, Laura Innocenti, Gabriele Gabrielli

Topics :: Leadership & Managing People

Tags :: Change management, Human resource management, Organizational structure, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development" written by Silvia Profili, Alessia Sammarra, Laura Innocenti, Gabriele Gabrielli includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Appraisal Telespazio facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Human resource management, Organizational structure and Leadership & Managing People.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Appraisal Telespazio, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Appraisal Telespazio operates in.

According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Appraisal Telespazio
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Appraisal Telespazio

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Strengths Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Appraisal Telespazio in Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development Harvard Business Review case study are -

Highly skilled collaborators

– Appraisal Telespazio has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Appraisal Telespazio has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Appraisal Telespazio has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.

Training and development

– Appraisal Telespazio has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.

Innovation driven organization

– Appraisal Telespazio is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Diverse revenue streams

– Appraisal Telespazio is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.

High brand equity

– Appraisal Telespazio has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Appraisal Telespazio to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry

– Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Appraisal Telespazio to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Appraisal Telespazio to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Learning organization

- Appraisal Telespazio is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Appraisal Telespazio is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Appraisal Telespazio has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.

Analytics focus

– Appraisal Telespazio is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Silvia Profili, Alessia Sammarra, Laura Innocenti, Gabriele Gabrielli can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Appraisal Telespazio has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

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Weaknesses Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development are -

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Appraisal Telespazio is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development, in the dynamic environment Appraisal Telespazio has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Appraisal Telespazio has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Silvia Profili, Alessia Sammarra, Laura Innocenti, Gabriele Gabrielli suggests that, Appraisal Telespazio is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Appraisal Telespazio is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Appraisal Telespazio needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Appraisal Telespazio to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development, it seems that the employees of Appraisal Telespazio don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development, is just above the industry average. Appraisal Telespazio needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.

Lack of clear differentiation of Appraisal Telespazio products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Appraisal Telespazio needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Need for greater diversity

– Appraisal Telespazio has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Appraisal Telespazio has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Appraisal Telespazio has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

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Opportunities Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development are -

Buying journey improvements

– Appraisal Telespazio can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Appraisal Telespazio can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Appraisal Telespazio can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Appraisal Telespazio has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Appraisal Telespazio to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Reconfiguring business model

– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Appraisal Telespazio to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Appraisal Telespazio is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Appraisal Telespazio in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Manufacturing automation

– Appraisal Telespazio can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.

Developing new processes and practices

– Appraisal Telespazio can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Appraisal Telespazio has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Appraisal Telespazio to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development case study. Appraisal Telespazio can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Identify volunteer opportunities

– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Appraisal Telespazio can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Appraisal Telespazio can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Leadership & Managing People segment.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Appraisal Telespazio can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Appraisal Telespazio can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.

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Threats Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development are -

High level of anxiety and lack of motivation

– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Appraisal Telespazio needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Increasing wage structure of Appraisal Telespazio

– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Appraisal Telespazio.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Appraisal Telespazio is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

New competition

– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Appraisal Telespazio in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Appraisal Telespazio has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Appraisal Telespazio needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.

Regulatory challenges

– Appraisal Telespazio needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Appraisal Telespazio in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Appraisal Telespazio with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Appraisal Telespazio high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Appraisal Telespazio can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development .

Backlash against dominant players

– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Appraisal Telespazio business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc

– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.

Capital market disruption

– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Appraisal Telespazio.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants. We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –

First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.

Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.

Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Performance Appraisal at Telespazio: Aligning Strategic Goals to People Development is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Appraisal Telespazio needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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